What’s Eaten Where: The Skeleton Coast

Welcome to the Gates of Hell – the name Portuguese sailors once gave Namibia’s western coast. The locals are even more poetic, referring to it as The Land God Made in Anger. But you will most likely know this sandy wasteland along the shores of the Namib Desert as The Skeleton Coast.

It’s beautiful out here, but very harsh. Shipwrecks and bleached whalebones litter the shore (hence the name), a testament to the vessels (and creatures) that couldn’t free themselves of the strong onshore winds, pounding surf, hazardous reefs, unpredictable currents and persistent fog.

The Skeleton Coast is a protected national park that’s home to jackals, hyenas, lions, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, rhinos and elephants. Offshore, the waters are riddled with sharks – but that hasn’t stopped the surfers. Other than the odd thrill-seeker, the area is populated mainly by the Himba people. Estimates suggest as many as 50,000 of these semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers live along the Coast, their lifestyle unchanged for centuries due to topographically-imposed seclusion.

Surviving mainly on sour milk and maize porridge (known as oruhere ruomaere), these tribespeople also breed fat-tailed sheep, goats and cows. The two former are only slaughtered on special occasions, and simply cooked with a handful of salt. But the latter are rarely eaten – in this barren land, cattle constitute wealth and are prized beyond measure!

Instead, the Himba supplement their diet with cornmeal and eggs, and forage for wild herbs and honey. Whenever possible, they’ll enjoy mopane worms (a large, edible caterpillar) and, if near civilisation, will occasionally indulge in Namibian dishes such as oshiwambo (a combination of spinach and beef), oshifima (a doughlike millet paste served with a stew of vegetables or meat) or even the odd pumpkin or squash.

Oddly enough, piscine cuisine doesn’t feature on the list of local foods despite the proximity of the ocean. The odd fishing lodge may exist for tourists, but the Himba people have always tended to steer clear of water – salt or fresh. Rather than bathe, these people apply a paste of butter, animal fat, and red ochre to their skin to protect themselves from the sun, and partake of daily smoke baths to maintain hygiene.